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Feds Will Foot Bill for Digital TV Conversion Kits

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com

March 13, 2007

• Retailers Giving Bad Advice on Digital TV Transition • Glitches Abound in Digital Television Transition • GAO: Digital TV Switchover Mostly On Track • FCC Loosens Digital TV Rules for Retailers, Manufacturers • Consumers Having Problems with Digital TV Converter Coupons • Millions May Lose TV Service After Digital Switchover • 23 Million TV Sets May Go Dark In DTV Switchover • High-Definition TV Doesn't Have to be Expensive • FCC Wants Consumer Alerts About Analog TVs • Free No More: Conversion to Digital TV Carries a Price Tag • Feds Will Foot Bill for Digital TV Conversion Kits • Consumers Could Benefit from Transition to Digital TV • Life, Liberty and Digital TV --- • More about Home Electronics ...

The federal government doesn't want you to miss any of your favorite TV shows. Really.

That's why a little-known agency called the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has put together the "Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program" so that your TV screen won't go dark when TV stations stop their analog broadcasts come TV's D (for "digital") Day, February 17, 2009.

For years, the feds have been pushing and prodding broadcasters to complete their conversion to digital broadcasting, opening up spectrum space that has been long earmarked for other uses.

But a digital TV station isn't much good unless there are a lot of digital receivers out there, which is where the coupon program comes in.

So, starting next January, all U.S. households will be eligible to request up to two $40 coupons to be used toward the purchase of up to two, digital-to-analog converter boxes that will enable old analog sets to receive digital signals. The program will be good as long as the $990 million allocated for the program holds out.

Congress just couldn't bring itself to give away $1 billion for something as frivolous as enabling consumers to continue watching "American Idol" so it shaved the figure to $990 million.

But, never able to really say "no," Congress has agreed to pony up another $510 million if all the initial money is spent, but the additional funds will only be available for households that rely on over-the-air signals. Congress figures the cable companies can cough up any additional boxes their customers may need.

"The transition from analog to digital television is a historic change and brings with it considerable benefits for the American consumer," said Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez. "Not only will the transition help expand consumer choices, but more importantly, the digital transition will enable more efficient use of the nation's airwaves providing new advanced wireless services and increased public safety services for all Americans."

Just last month, a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Commerce and the Department of Homeland Security was signed to create and administer a $1 billion Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant Program to help state, local and federal first responders better communicate during emergencies, using many of the frequencies to be opened up when the conversion to digital TV is complete.

"With the Coupon Program and a successful analog-to-digital transition involving the public, industry and government, the switch from analog to digital television will be completed as planned," said Assistant Secretary for Communication and Information John Kneuer.

Households using analog televisions will not be able to receive digital broadcasts after February 17, 2009, unless the analog television is connected to a box that converts the digital signal to an analog format, or the analog television is connected to cable or satellite service. While converters may be important to connect some TVs, other viewers may not need or want converters, such as those who have digital televisions or pay TV service, NTIA explained.

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